The next adventure
by scullcandy
Summary: pretty much a Walt/Sadie version of 'Death in a Cradle'. It seemed ever so wrong to leave my Salties out in the cold while the Sanubis lovers stuck their tongues out. New chapters every Tuesday until finished. Reveiws are wanted.
1. Chapter 1

**Well, I know that my Sanubis lovelies were semi-pleased with 'Death in a Cradle' and so it seemed wrong to leave my Salt lovers out in there, shivering in the cold, so I wrote this little lovely story.** **New chapters will be posted ever Tuesday** **.**

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"Sadie, are you kidding?" I asked weakly. "Please, tell me you're kidding."

She shook her head miserably, wrapping her arms around herself.

" _Sadie_."

She shook her head again, unable to meet my eyes.

"Are you-"

"Pregnant. Yes, Carter, yes I am and you aren't helping."

I wrung my hands. "How am I supposed to help?! I told you not to have sex with Walt-"

"No you didn't!"

"Well, I didn't think you had to be told!" I nearly screamed. Sadie flinched and I realized how just how scared she must be.

I sighed and sat down next to her.

"You haven't told Walt yet, have you?"

She buried her face in her hands and made a choking sound. "N-no."

"You have to tell him."

"I know," she nearly moaned.

"Are you crying?" I asked in horror.

"Not yet." She said thickly, her face still buried in her hands.

I sighed. I knew how much Sadie loved Walt. I'd listened to her cry herself to sleep when he was sick with his curse. When he'd been healed, she squealed and danced around her room like it was _her_ that had gotten healed. She'd tagged around at his side for weeks after, none stop beaming, happier than I could remember her ever being.

Now…she was crying her eyes out at the mere idea of losing him. I knew she'd been sleeping with him, but I'd overheard Walt saying he was being 'safe' so I let them slide on it.

"I thought you guys were using a condom," I said slowly.

"It broke," Sadie said. Tears filled her eyes and she burst into tears. I looked at her in shock. I couldn't remember the last time I'd watched her cry, but now she was weeping so hard that her whole body was shaking. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she buried her face in her knees, sobbing hard.

"Sadie, calm down," I said in horror. I hated seeing Sadie cry. It's really, really awful to watch strong people fall apart and at the moment, my little sister was in pieces.

"I c-c-can't! What-t-t if he l-l-leaves m-me?" she sobbed. "I love him."

I blinked. I'd never seen her get so upset over something. And she hadn't even told him yet. It was the mere thought of him turning his back of her that was killing her. What would happen if he did leave her…?

 _No, Walt wouldn't do that,_ I thought. _He loves her._

It was true, he adored her, he wouldn't even try denying it. The recruits teased him about it all the time, but he never let him bother it. There was no way he was going to abandon her…right?

 _Never mind that,_ I thought. _I have to calm Sadie down before she drowns in her own tears._

Hesitantly, I pulled Sadie under my arm. She was so surprised that she looked up at me, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Sadie, Walt loves you," I said, trying to keep my voice even. "He isn't going to leave just because you're pregnant."

She hiccupped, "you think- _hic-_ so?"

I smiled, trying my hardest to make it look real. "Yeah…now…how far along are you?"

"A month," she said, more tears gathering in her eyes. I almost face-palmed when I realized why she was getting so weepy.

"Your hormones," I realized. "That's why you're crying so hard."

"I d-don't, I, I don't know," Sadie squeaked. "I guess. There are so many emotions crammed in my head that it's hard…"

 _Yeah, hormones,_ I decided, watching her sniffle. _Then again, she really does adore Walt, so that might just be how upset she is coming through._

I looked at her stomach. She'd been snacking a little more than usual the past few weeks, but no one had thought anything of it. I thought it was just a growth spurt. But her stomach was ever so slightly swollen, barely enough to notice, if at all.

 _Walt,_ I thought, _please don't have been bluffing when you told her you loved her. Please._


	2. Chapter 2

**My lovelies, I know there are always too many of you that think Sadie being a teen mom is unrealistic, but riddle me this: Sadie watched Walt slowly rot and die over the course of** _ **six**_ _ **bloody months**_ **. Half a year people. Don't you think that, maybe, she was just a** _ **little**_ **blindsided by the fact that Walt wasn't dying anymore? With how much she thought of him, I'm fairly certain that she might've slipped her judgment a few times, on account that she stated she found him aesthetically pleasing and the relief of the fact that he was no longer dying.**

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I sat on my bed, watching the ceiling fan turn. The basketball game was finally over and we had lost. Leon, Lucas, and Butch had called to brag from Seattle, thoroughly irritating me. They'd also begged me to come back for spring break, but I'd said no. I had too many classes and responsibilities here, not to mention Sadie-

"Walt?"

Speak of the devil. I sat up and looked at Sadie, leaning in my doorway. As always, I was a little floored by how beautiful she was. Her long caramel and blue hair was pulled back in a loose braid and her jeans and tee shirt clung to her pretty figure. My heart warmed when I met her eyes and she flushed, her cheeks turning pink.

But then I noticed her normally fierce blue eyes were red from crying. Sadie _never_ cried-or at least, she didn't come to someone with evidence on her face that she'd been crying. Something had to be seriously wrong for her to be here.

"I need to talk to you," Sadie said in a small voice, as if she was trying not to cry again.

Without answering, I opened my arms. She broke, bolted in, and curled into my chest. Her whole body was trembling. Fighting to keep my hands steady, I pet her hair, trying hard to calm her down.

"There, there Sadie, it's okay. Everything will be alright. What's the matter?" I cooed, my voice low and soothing.

"I'm p-pregnant," Sadie choked.

I froze.

There was a long moment of silence while Sadie waited, shaking and on edge, for me to speak. When I couldn't find my voice, she burst into tears, which scared me more than the actual fact that she was pregnant.

"Sadie, Sadie, calm down," I tried, startled by how hard she was weeping.

She shook her head and continued to cry. On impulse, I wrapped back around her and hugged her tightly, cooing at her that it was going to be okay. She was crying so hard it physically hurt me to hear.

After a few long, painful minutes, Sadie stopped and wiped her eyes, looking mortified and even more upset than when she had been when she first walked in.

"I'm sorry," she sniffled. "I thought I was done."

I rested my chin on her head, relieved she wasn't crying anymore. I hated it when _anyone_ cried, but that had been awful to watch, even if it hadn't lasted long. My fingers tangled in her fine hair, running out her blue streaks. I tried to keep calm and think about this logically. I didn't need both of us in a panic.

Alright, so she was pregnant, I thought, ignoring my how the idea made me lightheaded. The last time we'd had sex was…around a month ago, so she couldn't be more than a month along.

An unwanted thought popped into my head.

Did I even want to be a dad?

I looked down at Sadie. She had her face buried in my chest, too upset to look at me. Her thin arms were wrapped around my waist as if she was trying to keep me from leaving. How many times had those arms held me when I was sick? More than I would like to admit. Sadie had been the one to wake up with me in the middle of the night and watch movies in the Great Room whenever I felt too sick to sleep. She'd comforted me through our amulets constantly and refused to let me consider giving up. She'd been harsh at times and downright annoying most of the time, but I was alive because she'd cared enough. Sadie had been there for me constantly when I was dying and even after I'd gotten healed.

Now, it was time for me to be there for her.

I looked at her stomach. Sadie was very slim, and she never really seemed to grow. Carter had gone through two growth spurts and was almost as tall as me, and was working on muscle. Sadie, if anything, had gotten shorter (of course, none of us recruits anything because we valued out lives). She was small and looked absolutely harmless curled up in my lap.

And she was pregnant.

"Sadie," I said calmly, petting her hair. "Please don't cry, it'll be okay."

Sadie looked up at me and sniffled. Her eyes seemed a hundred times brighter when they were full of tears. I smiled at her reassuringly to show her I wasn't upset.

"You're not mad or-"Sadie started. I swooped down and kissed her cheek, cupping my hand over her mouth.

"I am not mad. Why on Earth would I be mad?" I said calmly, still petting her hair. "I'm a little surprised, I'll admit, but I'm not upset at you."

She looked so relieved you would have thought I'd just lifted the weight of the world off her shoulders.

I frowned, "were you really so worried?"

"Yes," she almost sobbed, her voice muffled by my shirt. "I thought you would leave me."

I looked at her in shock, "you thought I would _leave_ you because you're pregnant?"

She nodded miserably.

"Sadie, Sadie, Sadie," I chided. "I would think, by now, that you should know that I'm not going anywhere."

"Well I didn't and I was worried!" she snapped.

I looked down and raised an eyebrow at her. "There's no need to bite my head off."

She buried her face in my chest, looking confused and angry with herself. "I'm sorry. I'm tired and scared and I d-don't," her lip trembled and I quickly rushed to soothe her before she cried again.

"No, no, it's okay," I said quickly. Gods, her hormones were bad and she wasn't very far along at all. Forget the question of if I could be a dad, the real question was whether or not I could survive with a pregnant Sadie for nine months.

"Have you told anyone else?"

She nodded miserably, "Carter a few minutes ago. He told me to come tell you."

I mulled over that for a minute. Since I didn't have a _Khopesh_ up my ass yet, Carter wasn't too upset about me getting Sadie pregnant. That was a small comfort. I repositioned Sadie in my lap while I thought. Amos probably wouldn't overreact and disown Sadie, or something similar, but I didn't know about her father. From what I'd heard, he was a stern man and he probably wouldn't be overjoyed with this.

 _Gods, it would kill Sadie if her father did something like that,_ I thought.

"W-Walt?"

I looked down. Sadie was looking up at me with wide, scared eyes. I wished she would stop and calm down, but I didn't think she was capable of that at the moment.

"What's wrong?"

She bit her lip and looked away. "Nothing, never mind."

" _Sadie._ "

She cringed. "I-I just, I d-don't-"

"Please calm down a little," I said gently, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "It's hard to understand what you're saying when you're stuttering."

"I-I'm sorry," she sniffled, hiding in my chest. I sighed, she was always so hard on herself when she was upset.

"What did you want?"

"…What are we going to do?" Sadie asked softly.

I pet her hair, trying my hardest to calm her down. "You are going to take a deep breath and get the thought of me leaving out of your head because it's never going to happen. Then we are going to go to Jaz so she can make sure you actually are pregnant-it might have been a false positive. After that, we'll go to dinner and tell the recruits if you are pregnant."

"How are you so calm about all of this?"

I looked down and smiled. "Well, there's no need for both of us to panic."

"I wasn't panicking."

"Yes, yes you were."

She sighed, her breath coming out shaky and clung to me tighter. "I didn't know what I would do if you left me."

I leaned down and kissed her head, "well then, I guess it's a good thing you won't ever have to find out."


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for neglecting you, my pretties. I was quite busy. However, I will start back up** **posting only on Thursdays** **, including new chapters for this story, Death in a Cradle, and one-shots.**

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Unfortunately, Sadie being calmed down didn't last as long as I had hoped. She was a shaking wreck by the time we go to the infirmary. Tightened my arm around her and tried to look reassuring, but Sadie was on the verge of tears again.

"Sadie, what's gotten into you?" I scolded gently.

She looked up at me with devastated eyes. "M-my recruits. They're going to think I'm a whore. The kids at school, my friends. What about my parent's-Walt what am I supposed to do-?!"

I clamped my hand over her mouth, cutting off her near-hysteric rant. "Would you calm down? The recruits love you and aren't going to think of you any differently. Your parents love you too and the kids at school can answer to me if they have a problem with you."

Sadie gave a shaky breath and nodded.

"Are you calmed down now?"

She nodded again.

I let her go and rubbed between her shoulders. "Everything's going to be okay, you know that?"

She nodded and smiled weakly, "I'm being ridiculous, aren't I?"

"Only a little," I said wrapping my arm back around her waist. "C'mon, let's get you to Jaz."

She gulped and nodded. I could see her anxiety building up again and I sighed, hugging her tight. "Sadie, I love you, you _know_ that. I love you, I love the baby. Your recruits love you and so does everybody else."

She nodded, looking embarrassed and anxious.

I led her into the infirmary and immediately she stiffened. I'd forgotten how much she hated hospital/doctor/sick room environments. I vaguely recalled that she could barely step a toe in here, even when Jaz was in a coma.

Speaking of Jaz, she was sitting on one of the beds, her nose in a scroll. Several herbs and vials were on a table next to her. She looked up when I cleared my throat.

"Hey Walt," she said amiably. "Headache?"

"No, not me this time," I said, letting go of Sadie. She had her eyes on floor and wouldn't meet anybody's.

"Oh," Jaz said. She knew how much Sadie hated this room too. "Sadie, what's wrong?"

Sadie cringed and bit her lip, looking highly unwilling to speak.

"She's pregnant," I finally said, realizing Sadie wasn't going to speak. She looked up at me gratefully.

Jaz's mouth popped open in an 'O'. I thought Sadie might break down again.

"…Well, I guess-um-tests," Jaz said weakly. "Sadie, sit here."

Sadie nodded and sat down, looking miserable and scared. Jaz glanced up at me, hovering.

"Maybe you should go?" she prompted.

I looked at Sadie, seeing if she wanted to be left alone with Jaz. She nodded and I sighed, kissing her temple and then turning to leave. As I rounded the corner, I heard her sob, "What am I going to do?" I almost turned back.

An hour later, Sadie came back into my room. I sat up, eager to hear what Jaz had to say. Sadie didn't speak though, she crawled into my lap and offered me a piece of paper.

It was an ultrasound picture with a little white dot circled in red pen.

"So you are pregnant?" I finally managed to ask.

She nodded and took the picture back. She stared at it for a long time, seeming to be in a slight state of shock.

"Baby, are you okay?" I asked gently.

She looked at me strangely. It had been a long, long time since I called her 'baby'. I think the last time was a few months ago when she'd had the flu and was coughing up her lungs.

Sadie looked back down at the picture and brushed her thumb over the red marker. She smiled faintly, "looks like a jelly bean doesn't it?"

I smiled, "yeah."

She snuggled further into my lap and held my hand. "Walt, I'm scared," she whispered.

I wrapped around her, pressing her to me. "I know, me too. It'll be okay."

Sadie bit her lip and looked up at me, "so…do we tell the recruits?"

I nodded, "yeah, at dinner." I kissed her nose. "Don't worry, everything will be okay."

To my pleasant surprise, I was right. Sadie nearly had another nervous breakdown on the way to the patio, but she was easier to calm down this time. I tried to remind myself that it was her hormones that had her so emotional and that she really didn't have any control over them, but I still wanted to shake her by the time we got downstairs.

The recruits were stunned, but even the older ones congratulated her and wished us luck. Carter looked irritable, but he cut it out when he realized how fragile Sadie was at the moment. She felt awful and didn't need his help with it.

Sadie looked beyond relieved, but she barely touched her food.

"Sadie, really, you need to eat," I scolded gently.

She grimaced, "I feel nauseous, I don't think eating is the best idea."

I frowned and kept an eye on her for the rest of the night. She did look a little green. Jaz noticed too and slipped away into the infirmary. When she returned, she handed Sadie a potion and whispered something that I didn't catch.

"Thanks Jaz," Sadie mumbled miserably. She tilted her head back and drank what was in the vial. I chuckled as her nose wrinkled, "Does it taste bad?"

"It's sour," she said, puckering her lips. "I'm not a fan of sour things, or spicy things really."

"Do you feel better now at least?" I asked hopefully.

She nodded and told me to pass the potatoes.

After dinner, Sadie started looking exhausted. We slipped away while the recruits discussed a movie and I led Sadie up the stairs. She leaned into me sleepily and buried her nose in my chest.

"I'm not usually this tired," Sadie yawned.

"I think you've just had a rough day," I said sweetly. "C'mon, we can watch a movie in your room."

She nodded and followed me up the stairs. I held her door open for her and she hopped onto her bed, watching me dig through her stash of movies. She had half a movie store full of old timey scary movies. I turned around to tease her about it-

"Maybe we can save movies for another night," I chuckled.

Sadie was fast asleep, curled up on her bed and breathing deeply. She looked different when her mouth was closed. I leaned down to kiss her cheek.

"Goodnight Sadie," I cooed. I patted her stomach, "goodnight, Little Sadie ."

I turned and left, smiling softly.


	4. Chapter 4

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" _Please,_ don't make me go," Sadie begged.

I heard Amos tell her something over the phone and she snapped it shut, wringing her hands in frustration.

"Sadie, you have to go to school," I said, rolling my eyes. "You have to learn."

"I could learn online," Sadie said, sitting down on the couch. She chewed irritably on her gum and crossed her arms.

"You need social interaction," I tried again. Sadie looked away from me and muttered that that was, in fact, the _last_ thing she wanted. I sighed, Sadie was getting anti-social. I assumed it was from hormones, but then again, what did I know? She sure cuddled up to Walt.

Zia patted Sadie's shoulder in an attempt to cheer her up.

"Sadie, I know you hate school, but it hasn't even started yet and you're trying to get out of it," I said. "Are you really _that_ worried?"

"Yes!" she snapped. She bit her lips and her hand brushed her stomach as she crossed her arms. Not even a week had passed since she had realized she was pregnant and she was already making herself sick with worry. Literally. She was so stressed she was physically making herself sick to the point that she could barely hold down any food.

I studied her. She looked weak and starved from not eating. In fact, now that I was looking at her, she was almost scary thin. Her wrists were bony. Her cheeks looked sunken. How had she wilted away so fast? How had I not noticed her wilting away?

I had been gone for the past few days to the Nome in San Francisco, but still, seeing Sadie like this wasn't comforting. Walt and Jaz were gone too; they'd left before me and weren't supposed to be back till tomorrow. Perhaps it was time for them to come home a little early…

"How about you get some sleep and I'll try to reason with Amos?" I offered. "You look tired." She really did too.

Sadie looked relieved. She got up and shuffled up the stairs, looking worn out. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Walt's number.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Yeah, hey, it's Carter, you need to come back home."

Walt and Jaz came back immediately. When they stepped out of the portal, Walt ran for Sadie's room before I could even ask him how the trip had gone. Jaz hung back and explained that Walt had been worried about Sadie since they'd left.

"He didn't really want to come in the first place, but I thought it would be a nice break," Jaz said. She wrinkled her nose, "it was awful though. Thank the gods for Sadie. I don't think I could have made it through another day."

I cracked a smile, "Was it _that_ bad?"

Jaz nodded earnestly. She slung her healer's bag over her shoulder, "So, what's wrong with Sadie?"

I started to walk back in the house and Jaz followed, "She looks awful," I said quietly.

Jaz nodded sadly, her cheer disappearing, "I didn't think she was going to have an easy pregnancy. She's terrified that the baby will inherit Walt's curse, or that she'll be a bad mother, or that she'll be bullied at school-although, I don't think she needs to be so worried about that last one. Walt's a little over-protective anyway, let alone when he actually considers her fragile. I don't think anyone would be _able_ to bully her."

I nodded, chewing on my lips. I hadn't even considered the kid having Walt's curse. No wonder Sadie was killing herself with stress. I would be too if I were in her combat boots. We made our way to Sadie's room and I mulled over everything.

When we got there Walt was fussing over Sadie like an old hen. She batted him away, her cheeks bright red with exertion from arguing with him.

"Walt, I'm fine, really," she exclaimed. She went to stand up again and Walt ushered her back down.

"Sadie, you look exhausted," he scolded. Sadie squirmed and tried to stand up again and he gently pushed her back on the bed. I figured he had about five seconds before her embarrassed and sleepy persona turned to aggravated and vicious.

"Okay, you two, that's enough," Jaz called before Sadie could try to get up again-or worse, get worked up. She walked over and looked Sadie over.

"Sadie, honestly," Jaz sighed. "You need to calm down. There is no reason to be stressing yourself out like this." She turned to Walt. "You keep Sadie on bed rest until she's recovered. Make her eat and sleep. She's not allowed to leave the room. At all. Neither are you."

Walt nodded, his lips twitching, "Yes mother."

Jaz smacked him upside the head. "Behave!"

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After Jaz left, Sadie seemed to give up fighting with me. I sat next to her on the bed and she flopped on the bed, too tired to ask me how the trip had gone. I pet her hair, murmuring that she needed to be more careful with her health. She felt frail and small under my hands.

"I was just worried," Sadie said. Her words were warbled and slurred from how tired she was and it took a moment to realize what she had said.

"Yes and now everyone is worried about _you_ ," I scolded gently. "Please, _please_ , be more careful. It's not only about you anymore," I rubbed her stomach. It was a wonder she still had the baby with how small she'd become. If she wasn't careful, she was going to have a miscarriage.

"You wilt so fast," I murmured. "It takes no time at all for you to become small and weak."

"I'm not weak!" Sadie exclaimed indignantly, waking up a little to glare at me.

I took her wrist and held it in front of her, squeezing gently on her bone. She winced and I let her go, sighing worriedly.

I hugged her and rubbed her shoulders, trying to warm my hands up. Sadie closed her eyes and shifted around, getting comfy in my side. She was asleep faster that I could say 'I missed you.'

Sadie ended up on bed rest for the rest of the week. Recruits kept trying to come in and see her, but Jaz ran them off so quickly they stopped trying. Sadie didn't put up much of a fight with me over anything. She seemed to be catching up on her sleep for the past year. I let her rest and came and went between working out and keeping her company. She was a wreck at some points-her hormones were off-the-wall awful. She could be laughing and then spontaneously start crying, or vice versa. Unfortunately, Jaz wouldn't take pity on me and make a potion to calm Sadie down. The only potion Sadie got was a nausea one so she didn't puke up her organs during morning sickness, which was so rough on her that the potion wasn't an option, it was a necessity.

It was calm, Sadie being on bed rest. I got up and worked out, went to my room to shower, took care of Sadie in her room and waited for her to wake up, babied her, made her eat, and tormented Jaz.

A week passed in this routine. Sadie was rapidly looking better now that she could hold down food and was getting a decent amount of sleep. She didn't look so frail and sickly. In fact, she was almost back to perfect health. Aside from her being drowsy (a side effect of the nausea potion), she was fine.

Apparently Jaz had this same thought process too, because she let Sadie off bed rest, on the condition to sleep and eat regularly. Sadie was ecstatic to get out of her room and she nearly ran me over running through the door. I hooked her around the waist and nearly knocked her off her feet as I went to catch her.

"Oomph! Walt!" Sadie exclaimed, wriggling against me. "C'mon, let me go!"

I chuckled and nuzzled her neck teasingly, "Jaz is going to put you back on bed rest if you don't take it easy."

Sadie pouted at me, "I've been cooped up all week, let me run before I get too fat to move."

I rolled my eyes, "you're ridiculous." I let her go and followed after her, equally as happy as she was that she was off bed rest. I preferred to see her bouncy and rambunctious that drowsy and weak. Now, she was wriggly and hyper, tugging me along by my hand.

"Sadie, stop for a second," I said, surprising myself.

Sadie frowned and skidded to a stop before her foot touched the step. She looked back at me with concern.

"What's wrong?"

I looked at her. Long blond hair was streaked with red, her skin was gleaming, and fierce blue eyes were looking at me with open trust and affection. For a split second, the world seemed to stop spinning. For the first time, it dawned on me-actually hit me-that we were having a baby. Another human being; a living, breathing miniature of myself and Sadie.

I stepped closer to her.

"Walt?" she said curiously.

I cupped her cheeks and tilted her head up so I could stare into her eyes. Her big, beautiful, blue eyes. If there was one thing I wanted our kid to have, it was Sadie's eyes. She looked up at me, confused.

I smiled, a grin of pure happiness spreading across my face. I bent down and pressed my lips to hers, my hands wandered and I pulled her tightly to me, wanting to feel every breath, every heartbeat. She relaxed into me and she buried her fingers in my shirt, holding me where I was. I didn't mind. I didn't want to go anywhere but right where I was: next to her and my child.

"Mm, more," she breathed, leaning into my lips. I chuckled and realized how much she was probably enjoying this. I hadn't touched her like this since we'd found out she was pregnant. Any kisses I gave her were gentle and fast. This one was long and drawn out, pure emotions.

"Mm, I love you," I murmured.

She sighed, her breath smelling like sweet bubblegum, "I love you too."

"Yeah, and we love you both, but you're killing our innocence over here," a voice said.

I let her go and looked over. A group of recruits were gathered over, smirking at us. Alyssa and Felix were among them.

"Well, well, well," Alyssa said, grinning. "Are you frisking up our mentor?"

I smiled and crossed my arms, "And if I am?"

They giggled and Alyssa rolled her eyes. Sadie raised an eyebrow at her. "Alyssa, don't you think it's a bit late to be concerned about Walt 'frisking' me up?" she pointed to her stomach and I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing.

The recruits chuckled and looked at her affectionately.

 _At least they're not mad at her for getting pregnant,_ I thought in relief.

I leaned down and kissed Sadie's cheek.

"So…you're off bed rest, right?" Felix asked eagerly.

Sadie beamed and nodded. "Yes, about bloody time too."

"Oh please, you enjoyed getting to sleep all day," I snorted. Sadie elbowed me and tugged on my hand again, trying to pull me along.

"C'mon, I don't want to be anywhere _near_ my room for the next century," Sadie said, impatiently.

"That'll be a problem then, when it gets dark," I teased. "You'll have to live in my room."

"I'm perfectly fine with that," Sadie said firmly.

I chuckled and followed her down the stairs and smiled at how _alive_ she looked. She'd looked near dead the past week. It was a relief to see her back to her normal self.

By the time we got to the patio, Sadie was practically bouncing off the walls.

"Babe, calm down," I laughed. "Seriously, you're going to scare the anklebiters."

She beamed at me and pulled me along.

Sadie dragged me all over Brooklyn. She was bouncy and eager and beyond happy to be off bed rest. We went to stores, had lunch, and saw a movie. By the time it was dark, she'd tired herself out completely.

I wrapped my arm around her waist and looked down at her, sleepily leaning into my side while I lead her up the stairs. She smiled up at me and yawned.

"I think that was the exact opposite of 'taking it easy,'" I teased gently. "We need to get you to bed before Jaz comes after the both of us."

"Mhmm," Sadie mumbled. She yawned again and rubbed her eyes.

"Alright, alright, I get the hint," I said, rolling my eyes. I leaned down and swept her up into my arms.

"Mm, thank you, love," she said, cuddling into me. I could walk must faster when I wasn't having to go slow to avoid tripping on her. I took the stairs two at a time and made it to my room quickly.

"Mm, I'm sleeping with you tonight," Sadie mumbled.

I chuckled, "I know sweetie, that's why I didn't go to your room. I think you're a little tired."

She yawned and nodded, "'m tired."

I bit back a smile and opened my door, setting her down on the bed. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and kicked off her shoes while I discarded my jacket and tossed my shirt over my head. I could feel Sadie's eyes on me as I undressed.

"Sadie, it's rude to stare," I teased, pulling my pajama pants over my boxers.

"Mm, it's not like I haven't seen it all before," Sadie purred, giving me an appreciative glance at my bare chest. I chuckled and laid my down next to her. She curled up into me and nuzzled my neck.

"You're more affectionate than usual," I noticed, petting her hair.

She cuddled closer and squirmed pleasantly. "You are very warm and I am very cold."

"More like your hormones are in my favor at the moment."

She ignored me and traced her finger over the curve of my collarbone. "Why don't you wear a shirt when you sleep?"

"I toss and turn a lot and I, myself, don't like to be strangled. If I wanted to be strangled, I would wake you up in the mornings."

She rolled her eyes and put her head under my chin. I grabbed the blanket and put it over her.

"…Walt?" Sadie said softly.

"Yes?"

She twisted her hands together, "You…you want the baby, right?"

I blinked. "Sadie. We've been through this a hundred times. _Yes_ I want the baby. I want you."

She smiled weakly, "I guess I just needed to hear it again."

I shook my head and turned off the light. "Sadie, I love you. Nothing will ever change that."

She sighed and curled closer to me in the dark, "I love you too."


	5. Chapter 5

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"Walt-"

"Sadie, if you ask me one more time I am going to strangle you!" I exclaimed.

She shrank away, looking hurt. I sighed and pulled her back into my side as we walked. "Baby, you have to go to school. Everything will be fine, I promise."

She bit her lip and nodded, looking uneasy and unconvinced. She looked pretty though, dressed for school in a blue top and grey jeans, her new black combat boots slapping the pavement as she walked, her thin hair streaked with blue and braided over her shoulder.

"You do look nice though," I repeated.

She smiled weakly. "You didn't have to get me a new bag."

I shifted her bag on my shoulder. The truth is, I figured I was going to end up carrying her bag around more than I had last year on account that, fairly soon, she shouldn't be lifting heavy things. Therefore, I didn't want to carry around her purple one. It wasn't overly feminine (seeing as how it belonged to Sadie and all), but I still cringed at the idea of carrying it. Then again, it was falling apart; she needed a new one anyway. Besides, the black one with white music notes fit her better anyway.

"I don't mind getting you things," I said sweetly. She blushed and continued walking, "I hope we have the same lunch."

I nodded and led her on. It seemed so weird to be talking about things like this. Such mundane little things, like having the same lunch. It seemed so small, school seemed so small, after all that had happened. I'd nearly died, we'd saved the world (multiple times), and now Sadie was pregnant. Nine months from now, we'd have a squealing miniature of the both of us. The thought filled me with both dread and happiness.

 _Oh gods, let my curse not be passed down to the baby,_ I thought desperately.

Sadie's hand gripped mine, as if she could tell what I was thinking and she didn't like it. I rubbed Sadie's shoulder and smiled at her, trying to sooth her nerves. If Sadie was calm, I could manage.

"The bell rings in five minutes," Sadie said anxiously, checking her IPod.

I nodded and led her inside the school. Thankfully, the vast majority of her classes, I knew where they were, so she didn't have to hunt for them too much. I handed her the bag and kissed her on the lips.

" See you at lunch," I said. "Stay out of trouble."

She rolled her eyes, "Walt, love, I _am_ trouble."

"So was it as bad as you thought?" I asked as Sadie sat down next to me.

She didn't answer and I frowned. The rest of the recruits cast her worried looks. She avoided everyone's eye and picked at her food with a plastic fork.

"Sadie?" I asked gently.

She shook her head miserably. There was a sort of look of devastation in her eyes that made me feel guilty for convincing her come to school. From across the table, Carter stopped his conversation with Zia and he seemed to understand what had happened.

"Homeroom?" he asked gently.

She nodded miserably.

He looked over at me and mouthed 'they found out'. I grimaced and nodded.

"Sadie, don't worry about them," Alyssa said good-naturedly. "We love you and nothing could ever change that."

Sadie looked up and gave her a watery smile and nodded. I offered her a half of my chicken sandwich. She took it and nibbled on it, still looking upset, but not _as_ upset. I kissed her cheek.

"I told you your recruits love you," I said sweetly. "Does this mean I get to say 'I told you so'?"

She rolled her eyes, "no. No it does not."

I chuckled and kissed her cheek again. "Fine. I'll wait till later to tease."

"Sadie, baby, what's wrong?" I worried, looking down at her.

Sadie shook her head miserably and buried her nose in my side while we walked. I frowned. She wasn't usually so down. The recruits noticed too because they kept glancing over at her sad figure. It broke my heart to see her so upset, when just this morning she had been happy and bubbly.

"Did the kids at school leave you alone?" I asked, even though I knew the answer. The whole school was buzzing that I'd gotten Sadie pregnant. There were some less than affectionate rumors going around too. However, one quick 'shut the hell up before I make you' really does make people keep their mouths closed.

"I'm fine," Sadie said quietly.

I sighed and wrapped my arm around her as we walked, "I wish you wouldn't lie to me."

I thought she might start crying after I said that. Guilt flooded my mind. I didn't want to make her _cry_ , I just didn't want her to lie to me. I took her hand and squeezed it, trying to show her I hadn't meant anything by what I'd said.

The other trainees trailed behind us, chattering about their classes. Carter and Zia were discussing which science teacher was better than the other. Every now and then, they cast her worried glances, but Sadie kept her eyes down and held my hand tight.

When we got to Brooklyn House, Sadie tried to slither away from me and go hide in one of the many, many rooms upstairs. I caught her and swung her into my arms.

"I don't think so, my little cover hog," I said sweetly, burying my nose in her neck as I walked up the steps. The recruits giggled and I ignored them, taking the stairs two at a time.

"I'm not a cover hog," Sadie muttered irritably.

"Oh, you liar!" I exclaimed, bursting into laughter. She'd stolen all of my covers last night, including the ones weren't even on my bed.

Her cheeks turned pink and she stopped squirming when we were out of sight of the trainees.

"Mm, please take me to your room," Sadie said as I was about to veer in the direction of hers. "I'm tired and I want attention."

"Didn't you get enough at school?" as soon as the words left my lips I wanted to shove them back in my mouth.

Her lip trembled and she buried her nose in my chest, thinly concealing tears.

"No, no, no, I didn't mean it like that," I assured her, but it was useless. I wanted to pound my head against a wall for that comment and Sadie wouldn't meet my eyes.

When we got to my room I tossed our bags in a chair and flopped down on the bed, still grasping my Sadie to my chest. She looked so upset.

"They called me a whore," She said thickly, tears gathering in her eyes. I knew the past few weeks were rough on her. Hormones made her get upset by little things and she was down on herself. However, despite hormones, I knew she wasn't thinking of this as a little thing. Hormones or not, that had hurt her feelings.

I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly, rocking her back and forth.

"You are _not_ a whore," I said firmly. "You are the most beautiful little thing in the whole world. I love you. I love you and the recruits love you and the kids at school can have their sculls flattened of they have a problem with that."

Sadie cuddled closer to me. "Walt…"

"What?" I demanded gently. "Do you not believe me?"

She shook her head, "no, I believe you. But…you're rather scary when you're mad."

"I'm not mad at you," I said, blinking. "Sadie, I would never get mad at you-"

"I know, I know," she said. "But you're a bit scary…"

I put my chin on her head, "no, I'm not. I shouldn't be to you anyway. I would never hurt you…now someone that was hurting you….I mean, they kinda _deserve_ to be in a hospital."

Sadie nuzzled my chest, "Now, now. No murdering."

I rolled my eyes and hugged her to me, trying to make her happy. "It'll get better."

She sighed, "Promise?"

"I promise."


	6. Chapter 6

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"Sadie, c'mon baby, go to the infirmary," I begged.

Sadie whimpered and curled over her stomach. "N-no, I'm okay, I'll be fine."

Sadie was having an awful day. She'd overslept and missed getting her nausea potion and spent the better part of the day losing all the food from the day before. Which was bad enough, but the last time, I swear I'd seen blood. Sadie could barely move, she was in so much pain and she refused to go to Jaz for help. I don't know if it was because she couldn't move or if she was ashamed of asking for help.

"Ow!" Sadie yelped. She curled over tighter and buried her face in my chest. "Make it stop," she sobbed. "Just make it stop!"

 _Sadie crying is where I draw the line,_ I thought firmly. _She's getting healing whether she wants it or not!_

"This might not feel good," I warned. I warped one arm around her shoulder and another under her knees and quickly swept her off the bed.

She squeaked and tensed up in pain.

The infirmary couldn't come fast enough. I ran all the way from my room to where Jaz was, bolted in, and quickly and carefully put Sadie on one of the beds.

"Jaz!"

She poked her head in. "What- ohmygods Sadie!" she squeaked. "What happened?!"

I shook my head, feeling more helpless than I had in a long time. Sadie was still in a fetal position, trying not to cry and failing miserably.

"I don't know!"

Jaz bit her lip and looked at Sadie's tense form, "Okay, um, a strong potion for pain and the nausea potion she was supposed to take this morning should help," Jaz started to flitter around the room, grabbing different things.

"Alright, Walt, you're going to have to untangle her," Jaz said, looking at Sadie, tense and curled into a fetal position. Two vials were in her hands.

"Yeah, got it" I said. I say next to Sadie and pulled her into my lap. She squirmed uneasily.

"C'mon baby, ease up," I said soothingly. She twisted and shook her head furiously. I sighed.

"Alright, I'm sorry," I said.

I quickly yanked her back and she gasped in pain from how rough I moved. I held her still and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Please, please just take the medicine," I begged softly. "I don't like holding you down."

Sadie whimpered, "Walt, it hurts!"

"I know, I know baby, I know. Just take the medicine, then you'll feel better."

Sadie extended a shaking hand and took the vials from Jaz.

As soon as she swallowed it, she relaxed and I slacked my grip on her. When she took the second one, she all but went limp in my lap.

"Alright," Jaz said, waving her finger at Sadie. "Don't you _ever_ scare me like that again!"

Sadie smiled faintly and tried to get out of my lap. Immediately, Jaz waved her back down, "What in Ra's name do you think you're doing?! Sit down and rest. You are resting. _Resting_. Do you hear me?! Gods, it's no wonder the baby is making you so sick, you're stressing yourself out too much!"

Sadie gave her a hurt look, "I didn't mean to-"

"I know and that's the only reason I'm not forcing you to stay in the infirmary for the next nine months. Now," she said firmly. "You are going to let Walt pick you up and take you back upstairs. Then, you are going to rest for the remainder of the weekend. When school starts, you're going to go to school and Walt over here is going to keep a very close eye on you and make you eat and keep you from stressing. No stressing! Do you hear me? No athletics, no letting Drew turn her fake-ass nose up at you, no letting the teachers get under your skin. You are going to take it easy and not wear yourself to the bone and if anyone messes with you Walt is going to kill them before I do!"

Sadie shrank into me and nodded meekly. "Okay."

I pet her hair. "Jaz isn't going to hurt you, despite the fact that she might want to."

"I wouldn't want to risk hurting the baby," Jaz said, waving her hand. "Speaking of which, you need to go eat. You probably lost everything you ate yesterday and your stomach is going to be killing you if you don't eat." Jaz's eyes softened as she looked at Sadie's guilty face. "Sadie, it's okay. Go eat, then go cuddle up to Walt."

She nodded and slid out of my lap. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

"And eat a lot!" Jaz called. "You need nourishment!"

Sadie rolled her eyes. "You'd think I was starving or something."

"You are," I scolded. I pet her hair, "You look starved." I led her out to the patio and she curled up in her chair. There were no other recruits out, which was strange, because there was usually at least three mulling around, snacking.

Sadie went to stand up and go to the buffet table, but I ushered her back down. "Tell me what you want and I'll go get it. You're resting, remember?"

She huffed, "Fine. Bring me steak and potatoes."

 _Expensive cravings,_ I thought. _Glad we live in a magic mansion so I don't have to pay for it._

I walked over and filled her plate up and brought her a Ribena. Sadie shifted eagerly when I brought it to her.

Sadie took the plate from me and dug in. She was obviously ravenous. I sat down next to her and watched her eat, happy that she had an appetite.

The baby must've really liked the steak, because Sadie devoured it in minutes.

"Would you like more?" I chuckled. Sadie nodded and handed me the plate back.

After thirds, Sadie was finally full. Which, really, wasn't that bad when you looked at how high her metabolism was. I'd seen carter eat fifths before and Sadie normally ate seconds, so Sadie didn't really eat _that_ much. She still looked full and satisfied though.

"Mm," She purred. "You can pick me up and take me to my room now."

I chuckled and stood up, sweeping her into my arms. She nuzzled me neck and wrapped her legs around my waist. I walked to her room slowly, not wanting to upset her stomach. When we got to her room, I laid her down gently and sat next to her.

"Do you feel better?"

She nodded and yawned. I slipped my hand under her shirt and rubbed her belly. She felt warm and soft. No more being curled in a ball, crying from pain and losing her breakfast, lunch and dinner. She looked happy and healthy, if not a little drowsy.

"You can't feel the baby yet, you know," Sadie mumbled sleepily.

I chuckled, "Yeah, I know."

I kissed her forehead. "You know, a little rest will be good for you. You'll be back on your combat boots in no time."

She sighed, "I probably _do_ need a rest. I suppose I might've been straining myself…"

I chuckled and kissed her again, "it'll all work out. Now, go to sleep and I'm going to keep an eye on you two."


End file.
